Travel Reads Queue, Page 8

The Years of Magic
By J. Lyndon Hickman
It was when mankind discovered how to make electricity that the world as we knew it changed profoundly. Soon generated electricity lit our streets and homes, provided heat, brought us efficient communication, modern transportation, and the effort of electro-motive force. Yet, manmade electricity carried through the wires and cables with which we fenced the land; the power lines encircling our towns and our cities, had another consequence. Generated electricity banished things of folklore and legend. Witches, werewolves, demons whose evil spirits had roamed the earth throughout time were displaced, driven off by the pain of electricity. Unfortunately also displaced were the good, those angels which had appeared to guide mankind throughout history. Then one day, in our not-too-distant past, a brilliant scientist created a machine that brought manmade electricity to a halt. That day marked the beginning of the return of the evil, as well as the good, in a time that became known as the years of magic.

That’s What They Want You to Think: Conspiracies Real, Possible, and Paranoid
By Paul Simpson
You don’t need to be wearing a tinfoil hat to accept that Lincoln was assassinated by a conspiracy – it’s a historical fact. But these days the phrase “conspiracy theory” has become synonymous with labyrinthine plots and nebulous clues hidden in blown-up photos and arcane paintings. The simple suggestion of a conspiracy is often dismissed by the mainstream media as if inherently impossible. That’s What They Want You to Think sorts through the most well-known theories—both historically accepted and summarily dismissed—to provide an overview of the real, the possible, and the paranoid. Conspiracies covered include Pearl Harbor, JFK, MLK, Lincoln, Princess Diana, John Lennon, Roswell, Freemasons, Watergate, 9/11 and more!

The Secret History of Star Wars
By Michael KaminskiStar Wars is one of the most important cultural phenomena of the Western world. The tale of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker has become modern myth, an epic tragedy of the corruption of a young man in love into darkness, the rise of evil, and the power of good triumphing in the end. But it didn’t start out that way. In this thorough account of one of cinema’s most lasting works, Michael Kaminski presents the true history of how Star Wars was written, from its beginnings as a science fiction fairy tale to its development over three decades into the epic we now know, chronicling the methods, techniques, thought processes, and struggles of its creator. For this unauthorized account, he has pored through more than 400 sources, from interviews to original scripts, to track how the most powerful modern epic in the world was created, expanded, and finalized into the tale an entire generation has grown up with.

The Pitchfork Diaries (Volume 1)
By J S. Bannerman
The Pitchfork Diaries is a collection of short stories and prose unlike anything you have ever read before. Even the darkest and most violent imaginings of your mind cannot come close to matching the horrors contained within. J.S. Bannerman, a new name in the horror genre, has skilfully woven a collection of tales that will inescapably work their way into your psyche, take up residence and relentlessly haunt you. Prepare yourself to be confronted by words that will threaten to shake the foundation of everything you thought you knew; no truth is too uncomfortable, no thought too gruesome to share. All are invited to read The Pitchfork Diaries. Many will never be the same. (From the back of the book.)

Spirit Stones: Unraveling the Mysteries of Western Europe’s Prehistoric Monuments
By Dianne Ebertt Beeaff
Nearly a decade in the making, award-winning author Dianne Ebertt Beeaff’s book, Spirit Stones, explores the enduring lessons of Europe’s prehistoric monoliths, stone circles and burial chambers. Beeaff’s fastidious research, first-hand accounts and prevailing love of history capture not only the architectural essence of these archeological treasures, but also their spiritual strength. Uniting civilization throughout the ages, the stone relics being rediscovered throughout Western Europe speak not only of our Neolithic and Bronze Age past, but also of contemporary humanity. The lessons of these ancient stones can help our present-day society unearth and cultivate its own spiritual potential…with reverence, celebration and hope.

The Healers
By Donna Labermeier
Koemi can rescue people from their deepest despair. Harata can intuit a person’s innermost thoughts. Eleanor can make sick people well. None of them knows each other, but these three young people share an astounding destiny: they were born to heal the world…They are The Healers. With the guidance of an old master named Agostino, the three teenagers embark on separate missions around the globe to vanquish the planet’s darkest forces. Koemi saves people from self-destruction. Harata thwarts would-be terrorists. Eleanor instructs others on how to grow their natural psychic abilities. Individually, they are powerful agents of good. Melded together as a group, who knows what unimaginable energy might be unleashed? That question is what drives the villainous Venceslao, who is on a mission to capture the three healers and others like them, then harness their talents for his own malevolent purposes. And it will be up to Koemi, Harata and Eleanor to find a way to stop this deadly adversary in time to save all of humankind from utter annihilation.

The Devil’s Jail: The John Abbott Story
By John Ivor Mitchell
Phil, a downtrodden journalist, is rested and ready to move on to the next village. When the proprietor of the inn hands him a mysterious envelope and asks him to open it only after he leaves town, Phil stuffs it into his glove compartment without another thought. Phil has no idea that in a short time, the innkeeper and his wife will be dead and his own life will have changed forever. In a village nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, John Abbott has just captured a dark force that had wreaked a terrible vengeance upon the town’s unlucky population. As the residents celebrate their victory over evil, they have no idea of the tumultuous events that had been set in motion. Meanwhile, Phil becomes entangled in a series of attacks that baffle police. While struggling with his own inadequacies, he unwittingly becomes the target of evil intent. No one knows if it is just bad luck or fate, but one way or the other, the Devil is determined to get his way. In this gripping thriller, events quickly escalate until a cataclysmic showdown becomes inevitable. Turns out, Phil may just be the only one who can stop the Devil — before it is too late.

The Book of Neophyte: The Awakening
By Stephen Alexander
Like so many of us, twenty-four year old Michael is tired of his monotonous existence. Then one morning he awakens in an abandoned alleyway; covered in blood and completely naked. After a narrow escape from authorities he is captured and imprisoned by a mysterious group who seem to possess unusual powers. Suddenly life is anything but boring. While learning to develop and utilize mind blowing, incredible abilities he is plunged into an unbelievable but very real adventure with evil incarnate. Like a great puzzle, pieces of a grand design begin to fit and Michael must accept truth and dismiss fiction as he discovers an ancient prophecy that threatens all life on this planet and how this threat directly relates to him. He must understand that he has a part to play in the events that have already been set in motion in the first installment of this ultimate theme of good versus evil.

Hell Is for Real, Too: A Middle-Aged Accountant’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Hell and Back
By Skip Shmuley
The world knows the amazing story of little Colton Burpo, who nearly died during an emergency appendectomy, and then, while in a coma, went to heaven. His father, Todd Burpo, went on to write Heaven Is for Real, which has sold over one million copies — deservedly so. Only a cynic would believe that an evangelical pastor with outstanding medical bills and a child who had heard 52,000 Bible stories might be tempted to do the following:
1) Prompt the boy with leading questions
2) Write a book with a professional author, and
3) Make big bucks from it
But this is Skip Shmuley’s story, not the Burpos’. Skip is a middle-aged husband who faced death during a vasectomy gone terribly wrong. At first, he rose skyward . . .

Joshua’s Atlas
By Gerald T. Dale
Joshua had no intentions of becoming a super hero when he first invented Bernie his flying sports car, but when there is a serious need that only he can ease, he is quick to volunteer his services and his creation. Joshua’s style and vulnerability quickly becomes evident when he finds that his activities must remain completely shrouded in secrecy while he mingles within the society that he ventures to protect. Although analogous in many ways to the mildly hokey Superman legend, this book offers many degrees of realism that is not present in that memorable saga. Get ready to feel the turbulence of flight and the rumble of the tires upon the rolling landings as Joshua explores Bernie’s veiled limitations. Only a true sports car aficionado can know the feeling that goes along with the testing of these limits.

Cobalt City Blues
By Nathan Crowder
The wrong place at the wrong time, a moment of weakness, an ironic twist of fate — these are all things by which jazz pianist Simon Floyd measures his life. Now dead over seventy years and acting the part of super-hero Mister Grey, Simon wants nothing more than a return to some semblance of his old life. Even if it risks the safety of his friends and fellow heroes in the Protectorate. Enter Augustus Dei — shadowy power broker with near-limitless power. Thought to be nothing more than a dark whispered fairy-tale told by occultists and lunatics, he has come to Cobalt City with a singular purpose — to help Simon with his unique problem. But is the reluctant hero willing to pay the cost required to get back what was taken from him by the barrel of a gun seven decades ago? And who can predict what chain of events might have been set up by the mischievous madman with millennia to plan? Book Two of the Protectorate series, Cobalt City Blues is an epic novel of alternate realities, loss, redemption, jazz, super-heroes, and what it means to be human.

Cobalt City Timeslip
Edited by C. Dombrowski
Times, they are a changin’ — especially in Cobalt City, home of the heroes. With a tradition of capes and cowls that dates back to before the town’s founding, any time is a good time for adventure. History comes alive with a time-swept librarian knight, zap-gun wielding alien princess, a faceless spy-smashing vigilante, Norse gods, the young archer facing down steamwork ex-presidents, and a bitter heroine trying to recapture her youth. There has never been a better time to visit Cobalt City.

Cobalt City Christmas
Edited by C. Dombrowski
When it comes to the holidays, Cobalt City isn’t all that different from your hometown, except for the secret headquarters, out-of-town guests capable of destroying the world, hundreds of heavily armed rubber duckies, Christmas geese that fight back, other-worldly arsonists, and inventors with jet packs, that is. Unwrap a bundle of super-powered adventure for the holidays, including tasty tales from storytellers both new and established: Nicole Burns, Rosemary Jones, Angel Leigh McCoy, Jeremy Zimmerman, and Cobalt City creator Nathan Crowder. You’ve never experienced a Christmas like a Cobalt City Christmas!

Growing Dread: Biopunk Visions
Edited by C. Dombrowski
Let eleven visionary authors show you the dangers and wonders of nature 2.0. Harnessing the power of nature, these authors show us biological futures that could be. If the human brain is the best computer in the world, what happens when someone learns how to hack it? A submarine captain, a government employee, a vat-grown sex toy and a world without death await within…to say nothing of the unicorns and timeless beauties.Let eleven visionary authors show you the dangers and wonders of nature 2.0. Harnessing the power of nature, these authors show us biological futures that could be. If the human brain is the best computer in the world, what happens when someone learns how to hack it? A submarine captain, a government employee, a vat-grown sex toy and a world without death await within…to say nothing of the unicorns and timeless beauties.

Time Line Warriors
By Lee B. Holum
When Tom and Wilma Weston stepped aboard the cruise ship, Sea King, they were unaware that they were embarking on an adventure of a lifetime. Tome, a retired Coast Guard captain, was aware that gateways to parallel worlds had been discovered, so he understood what happened when a bank of mist appeared on the surface of the sea. He was surprised when an early 19th century warship flying a British flag came out of it. When gates start opening randomly, warships from a world that had destroyed itself with nuclear and biological weapons appear bringing terror to on the high seas.